Nick Donaldson

Biography

Nick Donaldson studied Engineering and Electrical Sciences at Cambridge University. From 1977 to 1992 he worked for the Medical Research Council, Neurological Prostheses Unit, under the direction of Professor G.S. Brindley. On Brindley’s retirement in 1992 and closure of the MRC Unit, he brought the engineers to UCL and has since directed the Implanted Devices Group in the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering. He studied for the PhD as a student in non-university laboratory and obtained a doctorate from UCL in 1990. His research interests now include implanted device technology, the development of devices that use natural nerve signals as inputs; stimulators of nerve roots and spinal cord in paraplegia; the use of electrical stimulation for recreational exercise of paralysed legs; and methods to encourage functional neurological recovery after injury. He has published over 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals on subjects as diverse as electrical and electronic design, materials, biomechanics, exercise physiology, electrodes and neural signal processing. He has been an investigator in over thirty projects since coming to UCL.